Owners, Horses in Training Up, Sales Down in Ireland

[Wandering Eyes]

Irish racing last year enjoyed an increase in registered owners as well as horses in training, prizemoney and sponsorship, while bloodstock sales and betting on racing were largely down, according to Horse Racing Ireland’s 2018 Irish horse racing and breeding industry figures, which were released on Wednesday.

With almost 800 new owners registered in Ireland last year, the number of new owners was up by 16.2% year-on-year, and the total number of owners was up 3.5% to 3,817. The number of horses in training climbed 2.4% to 8,688.

“Increasing ownership was one of the main priorities for Horse Racing Ireland in 2018 so it is pleasing to see that strategy pay off with significant increases in the number of new owners, total owners and the consequent increase in horses-in-training,” said HRI Chief Executive Brian Kavanagh. “This will be felt by trainers all over the country with syndicate ownership rising 33% year-on-year. Owner retention is over 73%, the highest rate it has been since 2007. The rise in owners is reflected in an increase in horses-in-training and increases in entries and runners for both Flat and National Hunt racing.”

Weather-related cancellations and postponements were blamed for racecourse attendance being slightly down (-0.5%) at 1.274-million, but a look at meetings from July through December shows a very slight increase (0.2%) in attendance. Prizemoney and sponsorships were up across the board-purses were up 3.9% to €63.5-million, commercial sponsorship rose 5.3% to €5.2-million and EBF sponsorship climbed 11.1% to €2.2-million.

“Prizemoney grew by 3.9% in 2018 to €63.5-million and a further increase of €2.9-million is budgeted for 2019,” said Kavanagh. “The international environment has rarely been as competitive and prizemoney remains one of the key factors in attracting owners to have horses in training in Ireland. The newly developed Curragh Racecourse will see a prizemoney uplift for some of its flagship races as will the Dublin Racing Festival this coming weekend, and the festival meetings at Punchestown and Galway. Twenty Grade 2 and Grade 3 racecourses will also share €500,000 to enhance the value of their feature races, races that are typically accessible to the majority of the horse population.”

Flat and National Hunt entries were both up (5% and 1.6%, respectively), putting total entries up 3.2%. In other good news for owners, individual winners were up 4.6%.

Kavanagh suggested that the Israeli government’s decision to ban betting this time last year had a negative impact on wagering, and indeed total Tote betting was down 33.3% to €69.2-million, and bookmaker betting was down 11% to €54.8-million.

“Overall, the downward trend in on-course betting continues and reflects the changing nature of the betting market,” Kavanagh said. “Bookmakers and the Association of Irish Racecourses are examining ways in which on-course bookmaker betting can recover and be sustained. Horse Racing Ireland is undertaking a strategic review of Tote Ireland and considering a number of future options in order to maximise its return to Irish racing.”

A bright spot in the Irish bloodstock market in 2018 was the fact that the number of countries Irish-foaled horses were sold to was up 6.4%, from 31 to 33, but bloodstock sales at public auction in Ireland were down 8% to €161.5-million. Export sales of Irish-bred horses at public auction internationally were down 1.9% to €263.1-million.

“While the market for Irish-bred National Hunt horses made gains again in 2018 and showed a 3% increase, the 2018 sales cycle was a very challenging one for vendors, particularly those selling Flat horses,” Kavanagh said. “It meant that the gains made in 2017 across the spectrum of sales were reversed in 2018 with the uncertainty created by Brexit the biggest of a number of factors. Irish-bred horses continued to succeed at the highest levels internationally and the value of Irish-foaled exports sold at public auction was €263.1-million. Encouragingly, the attraction of Irish-foaled horses to international buyers was confirmed with Irish-foaled horses sold through auction exported to 33 countries. This is a tribute to the quality of the Irish horse and its global reputation for excellence.”

Reflecting on the figures as a whole, Kavanagh said, “Horse racing generates a very significant return to the rural economy in Ireland and positive international profile for our country–that contribution has been independently valued at €1.84-billion, supporting directly and indirectly almost 29,000 jobs. None of this success could be achieved without the support provided by Government through the Horse and Greyhound Fund. But, in Brexit, with the uncertainty it has caused and the difficulties it has the potential to create, we are facing a formidable challenge.

“It is always worth bearing in mind that, despite our size, we are the third-biggest producers of Thoroughbred foals in the world. Naturally, this means that we are significant exporters and 80% of those exports go to Britain. The challenges in terms of movement of animals, customs and tariffs, and potential protectionism that Brexit could visit upon us, could have detrimental consequences. Throughout the Brexit process we have been working closely with our international racing partners, including in Britain and France, and politicians and officials in Dublin and in Brussels, and we will continue to do so on behalf of the industry.

“Away from Brexit we continue to hold great ambitions for the racing and breeding sector, and the 2018 success in areas around ownership, horses-in-training and the continued support of commercial partners is a solid foundation on which to build more growth in 2019.”

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